Never mind the fancy name, the "château" is actually a former prison—the Mediterranean equivalent of Alcatraz. Built in the 16th century, the island jail was the setting for Dumas's classic The Count of Monte Cristo. Today, the guards have been replaced with guides.

Navettes are crisp, orange-flavored pastries shaped like boats (commemorating a party of seafaring saints). Le Four des Navettes—the oldest bakery in town—has been making the classic cookies of Marseilles since 1781 and will happily ship a box home for you.

You'll get a glimpse of Marseilles's ancient Greco-Roman past at this garden, where, during the 1967 construction of the Centre Bourse (the Stock Exchange), archeologists unearthed the remains of the city's original port, dating back to the ancient Romans.